Yes, yes, I know October is over now ;) I created each "digital story" for the #Octshowntell challenge during October, and posted links on Twitter. It's just taken me a bit longer to showcase them here on my blog ...
Anyway, I thought I'd try something different for the final week of #Octshowntell. I first came across DoInk a couple of years ago, and had been meaning to have a play with it ever since. This seemed like the perfect opportunity.
DoInk allows you to create your own animations - you can either do all the drawing yourself, or you can use the wide variety of props that others have made available. I used a bit of both - I drew the snail and butterfly myself, and then made them available for others to use (a couple of other users have already incorporated my butterfly into their own animations).
It's not much of a "story" per se, but it was great fun to make and I felt really pleased with what I produced. I hope you think it's kind of cute too :)
I've been going through a rough patch lately, and this cartoon is my picture-tells-a-thousand-words way of showing the wonderful support that Tim has given me.
Pixton's embedding function isn't working for me, so unfortunately I can only attach a small version to this post. You can view the full-size cartoon HERE.
P.S. No, neither Tim or I are stick figures, but I couldn't figure out how to change body shapes in Pixton's free version ;)
My second attempt at digital storytelling for #Octshowntell was made using Storybird. Storybird is a website where you can use high quality (and gorgeous!) illustrations to create stories, and publish them in a visually appealing digital storybook format. I encourage you to give it a go, the site is a real pleasure to use.
I wrote a simple little story about a helpful librarian (in the guise of a green fairy) answering questions about finding books and information. The artwork is by the very talented Paul McDougall.
Unfortunately, due to the width of my blog column, I can't display the storybook properly here (the right hand side is missing, but if I try to display the storybook at its original width it pushes my whole site out of alignment!), so please click HERE to view the full-screen version of my story at the Storybird site.
#Octshowntell is a challenge to explore a variety of digital storytelling tools - one each week in October - and share the results on Twitter, using the #Octshowntell hashtag. As well as being great fun, it's a terrific idea to get to know these tools, and to consider how they can be used in both personal and professional contexts.
My first effort was using Animoto, which creates beautiful animated slideshows from your photos. Just add some Creative Commons licensed music, and you're done! It's free to make 30 second videos, with longer videos and more options available for a fee.
My first attempt was a simple slideshow of some photos that I took at Floriade in 2007:
My second attempt was more of a story, demonstrating how Roxy helped us (hah!) put some flat-pack cupboards together:
I hope you enjoy them! :) My efforts for weeks 2 and 3 will be uploaded shortly ...
I've been in Darwin for 7 weeks now, but the time has absolutely flown! I'll try to make this a quick catch-up, with more blog posts to come ...
We lived out of hotel rooms for the first 3 weeks, before finding and moving into a house here in Darwin. By Darwin standards, we were lucky to find a place so quickly! Of course, we're paying through the nose, but that's a given here. The house is close-ish to my work, it's got air-conditioning in every room, a plunge pool and a lovely garden. We're still unpacking, but getting there (just need a bit more furniture to unpack stuff into - it's probably no surprise that we've run out of bookshelf space already!). Our cat, Roxy, is settling in surprisingly well (we're keeping her indoors here).
I'm really enjoying my job, although it's been a steeper learning curve than I expected. I'm slowly getting my head around the many different aspects of my job: the library; its resources and workflows; my colleagues; the university environment; my clients (both faculty and students); the subject areas I'm responsible for; etc. I've also really enjoyed the opportunity to meet library folk from other sectors through the active ALIA Top End / ALIA NT groups.
And then there's the climate. Gorgeous weather for my first month or so, but the humidity is starting to kick in now. We've even had a bit of rain (plus thunder and lightning), which is unusual for this time of year. We're trying not to fall back on the air-conditioning too much, but it's nice to be able to escape from the heat on occasion. And ceiling fans are one of the world's greatest inventions, I think!
Tim and I have been out-and-about a bit, visiting several of the local markets, scenic spots and eateries around town. With the dry season well and truly on the way out, we must make sure to fit in some more sightseeing while we're able. Tim already has a croc story by the way, having received a nasty nip from while volunteering for a day at Crocodylus Park! He's fine now - no lasting damage :)
Although the blog's been quiet lately, I've been fairly busy in some other online spaces. I've been tweeting (of course!), and posting photos and videos. Most notably, I posted a photo on Flickr for each day in August for the #1pic1thoughtinAug challenge. Click on the photo below to check out some of the places I visited and things I saw during my first month in Darwin :)
When I first set up this blog, it was partly with the intention of using it to keep my family and friends up-to-date with my life when I moved interstate. Well, now it's finally time to start doing just that!
I arrived in Darwin last night. The weather is perfect. The serviced apartment that I'm staying at is great, and is centrally located in the CBD. Everything feels both familiar and unfamiliar. Love it!
Tim and I have had a crazy few weeks getting ready for this move. Unfortunately, Tim won't be joining me here in Darwin for another week while he finishes our house renovations in Melbourne. He has also supervised most of the packing and uplift, after Roxy (our cat) and I skedaddled out of town partway through. He's been amazing.
I got into town on Darwin Cup Day, not long after the race finished. Which meant the queues for taxis were much longer than usual! Roxy was on the flight with me, so after collecting my luggage I caught a taxi to the freight area of the airport to collect her. A moment of panic when it appeared that they were closed for the public holiday, but they saw me arrive and opened up to let me collect Roxy in her new airline-safe pet carrier. She handled the flight really well, thank goodness! The nice lady from the cattery came to collect her, and she was whisked away to her accommodation for the next few weeks.
I caught another taxi into town, and commiserated with the taxi driver over Darwin house and rental prices. Then I checked into my hotel. I'm staying in a serviced apartment, with a full kitchen, bathroom and laundry. From my balcony, I can see (and hear) the Mitchell St tourist precinct, but I can also see the harbour, and the lights of the wharf at HMAS Coonawarra. I stocked up on supplies at the nearby supermarket, and soaked up the atmosphere in town. The Darwin Cup revellers hadn't gone home after their day out - they had swarmed into the city, and every pub and restaurant was packed! Back in my hotel room, I ate dinner on the balcony, enjoying the warm breezes and listening to the sounds of revelry below.
Tomorrow is the first day in my new job. I'm glad that I was able to come up a day early to acclimatise (and calm down after all the activity!) before starting work. Today was simply a day off - sleeping, reading, wandering, regrouping.
Blog posts may be few and far between for the next month, as internet access will be ridiculously expensive (hotel rates) until we've moved into a place of our own. But I'll try to post something, somewhere every couple of days at least. If I haven't updated my blog, you may find that I've updated on Twitter or Flickr instead.
Speaking of Flickr, I'm attempting to take part in another daily challenge. It's called #1pic1thoughtinAug. Each day (or as close as I can manage) I'll post a photo and a thought/comment/ramble on Flickr. When I have a bit more time, I'll set up a Flickr widget or something here on the blog, but please feel free to check out my #1pic1thoughtinAug Flickr set as well as the contributions from many other folk at the #1pic1thoughtinAug Flickr group pool. Thanks to Ruth for organising it :)
We've been looking forward to this day for some time :) We had to postpone our plans a couple of times due to finances and family circumstances, but now the time is right and everything is falling into place!
I've landed a liaison librarian position at the university in Darwin - starting in about 2 weeks(!). I'm looking forward to it so much! :) And I'm getting some good vibes about my new employer too, everyone's been really helpful and friendly so far.
I've been out of the academic library sector for a little while, but I think that the liaison librarian role will be a very good fit for me. I'm passionate about forging win-win relationships between the library and the rest of the organisation, I love preparing and delivering training sessions, and I look forward to the opportunity to develop and implement innovative services for clients. I'm also looking forward to being part of a wider community of academic librarians who are doing terrific work all over the country. :)
Right now, we're a bit frantic with getting ready to move to the other side of the country! Tim's busy working on renovations in preparation for renting our house out. I'm going through boxes, cupboards and rooms trying to lighten our load by doing the biggest "weeding" job that we've ever experienced. We're making decisions on what comes with us and what goes into storage - although we still have the uncertainty of not knowing what size house or apartment we'll be renting in Darwin. And we're also trying to figure out how to transport a cat and a boat! *lol*
But it's worth it! :) The adventure of living somewhere new, experiencing a different lifestyle and climate, meeting new people and making friends, and learning the ropes of an exciting new job in the academic library sector - I have high hopes!
Now, I'd like to give a big shout-out here to my wonderful colleagues and friends in Melbourne and beyond. I have been so fortunate to have people to talk to about my decision making process - so many have helped me negotiate through the pros and cons of different jobs, given interview hints, provided insight into potential employers, and put me in touch with other helpful people. I am blessed. Thank you all!! *hugs*
Well, today is the last day of #blogeverydayofjune
It's also my last day at work, having finished my contract at the Victorian Parliamentary Library. Again.
Although I'm ready for new adventures in new libraries in new places, I will always have the fondest memories of working with the wonderful group of people at "Parl" :)
I played tourist in my own workplace today and got snap happy. I hope you enjoy these photos of the gorgeous library that I've been lucky enough to work at for the last three years ...
I'm generally reluctant to state opinions on my blog. I really enjoy discussing hot topics with friends and colleagues, but part of my enjoyment of it comes from the fact that the exchange of ideas goes both ways. Although we may agree to disagree, more often than not I'll learn something from the discussion and consider issues from different viewpoints. But blogging isn't really like that. If I put something out there, it feels like I'm publishing a "statement". So I'm going out on a bit of a limb with some opinions here. But I prefer discussing (debating even?) ideas much more than delivering a monologue!
I'd been having a bit of an internal discussion with myself lately about the nature of working as a librarian in the public service (as you do). When I read bookgrrl's "Free-range librarian" blog post on the weekend, I thought it might be time to write them down and see what other people think.
Librarianship is not my first career. It's my third. I studied and worked in the sciences, and then worked in the Australian Public Service for six years. I was engaged in a variety of roles, including coordinating inter-governmental meetings, strategic planning, organisational performance measurement, change management, industry policy, tender evaluations and contract advice. It might sound a bit like buzzword bingo, but I learnt a lot about the public service during that time, and I think I gained quite a different perspective than people who work within a specific profession in the public service. I've brought this background with me into librarianship, and it has shaped my opinions, actions and feelings in this career.
The vast majority of librarians work in public service. Whether they work for a government department, a university, a school, a public library, a hospital, a state library, etc. - most are employed either directly or indirectly by the government and funded by the taxpayer. And that makes us public servants. Right? So we work for the public. Right?
Well, I beg to differ. Sometimes I feel that the name "public servant" is a bit of a misnomer. We work *indirectly* for the public. The people elect their Parliamentary representatives (whether Federal, State or Councillors in Local Government). The Parliamentary representatives who make up a majority form Government. The members of the majority party also select a leader, who assembles a Cabinet of Ministers. These Ministers oversee Government departments and agencies. Public servants are employed by the Government departments to carry out Government policies and programs. And that's where we come in.
So who do I work for? In a Government library, I work for my employer - the Government department. My department works for the Minister, and so on. In a public / council library, I work for my employer - the Council, who works for the elected councillors. In an academic library, I work for my employer - the university. The only people who work *directly* for the public are our elected Members of Parliament (Federal, State or Local Councillors). Sometimes the general public are our clients, such as in a public library. But they are not our bosses. And we cannot presume to act on their behalf against the directions of our employers. If our employers are acting unethically, well, that's what whistleblowers protection legislation is there for. But in other circumstances, it is not appropriate for us to act on behalf of the nebulous public rather than our employers.
But ... we're librarians - a profession within the public service, with values of its own. No, I'm not getting into the profession debate here! But I do want to acknowledge that we are administered (for lack of a better word) by a professional organisation with a statement of core values, and a statement on free access to information. And they are worthy values.
But ... as public servants we also operate within a set of values that perhaps we don't often think very much about. And those values are often set out in legislation. In the Australian Public Service, the Public Service Act 1999 includes the APS Values. This is the case at the state level too - in Victoria, public sector values are described in the Public Administration Act 2004.
So, what do we do if our professional values seem to clash with our employer's values, or with our employer's directions? I believe that when such a situation arises, it is our professional responsibility to work within our organisation to promote our professional values, and to convince our employers of their worth. But that's all. Because surely, in the end, our employing organisation must have the final say. And if we can't live with that, then it might be time to change employers.
The first time I listened to a Barry Manilow album, it was for a joke. But the joke was on me, because I loved it! I promptly stole all of my parents' LPs and picked up some more at op shops. I bought and read his autobiography. I got one of my LPs *signed* by Barry himself at Westfield Doncaster. And I went to one of his concerts back in 1996. I have the t-shirt to prove it. :)
Mandy was Barry Manilow's first big hit, back in 1974. I was just going to pick one video from YouTube ... but I ended up with three different versions of him performing Mandy. Because they're all so different!
This one is from 1975. See the sequins sparkle! Barry preferred to arrange music than perform it (he was Bette Midler's musical director in the early 70s), so it's interesting to observe that he is a little bit shy here :)
By 1978 though, it was a different story. He was a mega-star, and he knew it. Watch him bedazzle and work that audience!
And here he is in more recent years. The video is undated, but his outfit is very similar to what he wore during the mid-90s, when I saw him perform live. He's a confident performer, and he knows that all those middle-aged women in the audience (and me!) adore him :)
